News and notes from Imagine! and the Imagine! Foundation.
Lafayette Council Human Rights Comission
Jul-05-2021
Employees
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Today we are joined by Human Resources Benefits & Leave Administrator, Chelsea Jackson, to tell us a little bit more about the City of Lafayette Human Rights Commission (HRC). The HRC is a group “committed to evaluating City of Lafayette government, programs and processes with an inclusive lens, with a goal of fostering equity, social justice, and freedom from fear of persecution based on race, religious belief, country of origin, sexual or gender identity, physical ability or age.” You can learn more about the HRC by clicking here: City of Lafayette Human Rights Commission.
Chelsea has been a part of this commission since the beginning of this year and was kind enough to answer some of our questions about her experience and highlight some upcoming projects!
Question: What drew you to the Lafayette HRC?
Chelsea: I used to volunteer for the City of Lafayette for their Art Night Outs program and learned about the Human Rights Commission through that program. I loved being involved with the city and after researching more about the HRC, I learned how it is dedicated to helping citizens in Lafayette by promoting inclusion, diversity, equity.
Q: What have you learned while serving on the HRC?
C: We conducted a survey a few months ago with the residents of Lafayette and the results were surprising. There were a lot of diverse opinions, with both ends of the spectrum represented. Interestingly enough, we noticed that the longer the residents have lived in Lafayette, the stronger their opinions were.
I also learned a great deal about the city’s founder, Mary Miller, and her influence on the city. Her decisions still impact the city today!
Q: How has your experience with the Lafayette HRC been so far?
C: I am so excited to be a part of this group. I became a member at the beginning of the year, so about six months ago. So much is happening, and it is a wonderful experience to really get involved with the city and see how it works. There are so many intricacies within the local government and it is really excited to learn about it all.
Q: Is there anything on the horizon for Lafayette that you are at liberty to share with us?
C: We are currently developing a plan for naming rights in the city, which will essentially lay out how the city can name public buildings. This was spurred due to the controversy over the apartment complex previously named the Miller. There was a petition that circulated and gathered enough signatures to change the name of the complex. This controversy was due to the fact that Mary Miller’s sons were a part of the Ku Klux Klan.
Q: Do you have any advice for Imagine! based on what you learned or are learning there?
C: I would say that it is important to get feedback from the community. It is so easy to make a change on what you think someone needs or wants, but it could be different based on learning what the community telling you what they actually want or need. What we do can change their lives, so it’s important to get feedback from employees and clients. If it’s an important issue, learn more about their experiences, what they are going through, and how best you can support them as well.
